PHOTOS: Philippine Villages Reduced to Wasteland by Super Typhoon Haiyan

Tacloban City after the storm surge. Photo by ABS-CBN, Facebook

Tacloban City after the storm surge. Photo by ABS-CBN, Facebook

A state of national calamity was declared by the Philippine president after super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) left a trail of destruction in several major islands of the Visayas region. Entire communities were wiped out after a tsunami-like storm surge hit the provinces of Leyte and Samar. More than 10,000 are feared dead

Roads were impassable for many days and power lines are still down. The situation in remote towns is now being revealed through the reports of journalists and rescuers. The photos from these reports reveal more stories of devastation and suffering.

Reporter David Yu Santos documented the situation in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, the first town ravaged by typhoon Haiyan. Below are some of the photos on his Facebook account:

A family riding a motor in Guiuan, East Samar. Photo by David Yu Santos, Facebook

A family riding a motorbike in Guiuan, East Samar. Photo by David Yu Santos, Facebook

A woman washing clothes amid the debris after the storm. Photo by David Yu Santos, Facebook

A woman washing clothes amid the debris after the storm. Photo by David Yu Santos, Facebook

Destroyed houses in Guiuan, East Samar. Photo by David Yu Santos, Facebook

Destroyed houses in Guiuan, East Samar. Photo by David Yu Santos, Facebook

A family in typhoon-ravaged village. Photo by David Yu Santos, Facebook

A family walks the street of Guiuan after the storm. Photo by David Yu Santos, Facebook

Residents search for valuable materials in Guiuan, East Samar. Photo by David Yu Santos, Facebook

Residents search for valuable materials in Guiuan, East Samar. Photo by David Yu Santos, Facebook

An aerial view of Guiuan, East Samar. Photo by AFP, Facebook

An aerial view of Guiuan, East Samar. Photo by AFP, Facebook

Meanwhile, Kashmer Diestro from Panay island, shared some photos that show the impact of Haiyan in Roxas City:

A tricycle passes by a ruined gas station in Roxas City. Photo by Kashmer Diestro, Facebook

A tricycle passes by a ruined gas station in Roxas City. Photo by Kashmer Diestro, Facebook

Fallen electric posts in Roxas Boulevard. Photo by Kashmer Diestro, Facebook

Fallen electric posts in Roxas Boulevard. Photo by Kashmer Diestro, Facebook

Below is a Twitter photo of volunteers writing messages of solidarity to typhoon victims:

Pet animals were also killed during the storm surge:

Lieutenant Colonel Fermin Carangan of the Philippine military recounted his ordeal during the storm surge:

…we noticed that water was slowly entering our office, so we went out again. Then suddenly, we saw that the water was getting higher and higher, until we were forced to get up the ceilings of the building. We had to bore holes on the ceiling just to get up there, and I was the last one up.

Suddenly the building collapsed and I saw my men falling into the surging water and very strong winds. There was also no more roof on top of the building. I was able to hold on to a piece of wood – a truss which I forcibly removed just before I was taken by waves and the strong current.

At sea, we went through another hell. We were slapped by waves, great big waves from all directions. We were also toyed by swirling winds. And we couldn’t help but drink a lot of salt water

Many volunteered in telethons to raise donations for the victims. Phillip Willard Medalla described his volunteering experience:

I spoke with hundreds of callers. In most instances, I caught myself teary-eyed while smiling with an excited but shaking voice because of stories of tragedy and hopelessness, and expressed willingness to donate and help as well. Reality is, there have been lots of donations but there are far more victims who need HELP.

Yeb Sano, lead negotiator of the government of the Philippines in the UN Climate Summit in Poland, delivered an impassioned speech in pushing for the signing of a climate pact. He made reference to the typhoon disaster that hit the country:

We must stop calling events like these as natural disasters. It is not natural when people continue to struggle to eradicate poverty and pursue development and gets battered by the onslaught of a monster storm now considered as the strongest storm ever to hit land. It is not natural when science already tells us that global warming will induce more intense storms. It is not natural when the human species has already profoundly changed the climate.

9 comments

  • HonoluluFrank

    This is a terrible terrible continuing tragedy. It has nothing to do with global warming. It has everything to do with inadequate infrastructure. That is the only reason this might be called an un-natural disaster. Inability to develop supporting infrastructure for your people is the problem. That government official exploiting this for an environmental conference should resign.

  • […] provinces of Leyte and Samar are among the most badly-hit areas with many villages reduced into wasteland. According to the latest official report, more than 2,000 have died but the casualties could be […]

  • […] si è abbattuto venerdi scorso sulle isole Visayas, scatenando una tempesta che ha ucciso più di 1500 persone. Ma le vittime […]

  • […] na Samar ni miongoni mwa maeneo mengi iliyoathirika vibaya na vijiji vingi kuharibika na kubaki nyika. Kwa mujibu wa ripoti rasmi za hivi karibuni, zaidi ya watu 2,000 wamefariki lakini majeruhi […]

  • […] tsunami yang menewaskan lebih dari 4000 orang seketika. Ribuan lainnya terjebak di tanah terbiar yang sebelumnya tempat rumah-rumah mereka […]

  • […] 先週の金曜日(訳注:11月8日)ビサヤ諸島を襲ったハイヤンは、高潮を引き起こし、その結果1500人以上の犠牲者を出した。 しかし犠牲者の数は今後も増える可能性がある。田舎の沿岸町の状況はいまだ明らかになっていないからだ。道路が損壊しているせいで、救助隊や支援団体が被災地域へアクセスできないでいる。 […]

  • […] 高潮がレイテ州の州都タクロバンを襲い、数千人が死亡した。いくつかの町は壊滅状態に陥り、多くの人が家を失った。被災者は政府の救助が届いていないと 不平を漏らしている。避難者の中には餓死している者があるとの情報もある。しかし、政府は、被災者への国の援助が滞っているとの批判を受け入れていない。 […]

  • […] グローバルボイスのフィリピン人記者によると、さらに多くの人が、かつて彼らの家のあった被災地に、食料も水も救助もない状態で取り残されているようだ。こうなったのも、台風30号(フィリピン名:ヨランダ)による被災地に対する救助の手が、時を移さずに差し伸べられていない、というそれだけの理由によるのだ。 […]

  • […] 2013年11月8日、破壊的なスーパー台風ハイエン(訳注:以下、台風30号と表記する)が、中部フィリピン襲った。これにより津波のような高潮が起こり、瞬時に4000人以上の人命を奪った。さらに、数千を越える人が、かつて自分の家があった 被災地に取り残されている。 […]

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